(NewsNation) — A Washington, D.C., ministry is feeding furloughed federal employees who are missing out on paychecks during the second-longest funding lapse in U.S. history.
“We’re going to continue to do that, not only the duration of the shutdown, but also after the shutdown, in part because of the SNAP benefits that are going to be ending, possibly ending,” said the Rev. Wil Stroman, executive director of Urban Outreach.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, distribution hangs in the balance of the government shutdown, and the Department of Agriculture has threatened to withhold billions in contingency funding for beneficiaries if the shutdown continues into November.
The Capital Area Food Bank works with organizations like Urban Outreach to distribute thousands of pounds of food and essential items to families in need.
Boxes are loaded into the car of a furloughed federal worker at a Capital Area Food Bank distribution site in Alexandria, Virginia, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images) 
Volunteers hold boxes of food before loading them into cars of furloughed federal workers at a Capital Area Food Bank distribution site. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images) 
Boxes of food to be given to furloughed federal workers at a Capital Area Food Bank distribution site in Alexandria, Virginia, on Oct. 24, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Stroman anticipates the number of federal employees using the service will only grow as word spreads around the city.
“I believe people will kind of develop more courage to come out,” he said. “Because for some, it’s their first time ever having to stand on a line for food or receive this kind of assistance.”
As the shutdown enters its fourth week, hundreds of thousands of federal workers are furloughed or are working without pay. Members of Congress continue to receive paychecks during a government shutdown.
“We’re going to just continue on with this program that we have, to reach and to meet the needs of just the federal workers,” Stroman said.